Updated - a small version has been produced and the graphics tidied up. A circular slide rule for calculating the number of handicap points exchanged when games are played under Advanced Rules. Ian Plummer, UK

Dave investigates the aiming accuracy needed to produce a successful cut rush in a desired direction. He demonstrates that for small cut angles the aiming accuracy is relaxed (!) however for big cut angles more accuracy is required.

A report of the use of an online multi-manager, multi-venue tournament management package is described. It has the benefits that viewers around the planet can observe the real-time progress of the tournament. Additionally the results can be projected or viewed on a large screen at the venues.
Also no software needs to be installed on computers accessing the program since its interface is a simple web page or web form.Ian Plummer, UK

The mapping software for "Find your Nearest Club" has been updated to a new version which supports more browsers (including Safari and portable devices iPhone,s etc.). Additional clubs have been added including some on the continent. A separate demonstration map (not portable device aware yet) for the USA is included. Ian Plummer, UK

Nick shows that neither aiming at half the angle nor at the mid point between the final resting points of the balls is correct in most instances. For a take-off his conclusion is that you can hit much more into the croqueted ball.

Don Gugan has analysed the high speed video taken in 2006 by Bill Arliss and his team. For 38 clips (available on the WCF website) he has measured velocities, ball spin, elevation, etc. He draws a number of significant conclusions which will support future analysis. He also presents the background theory in convenient appendices. These cover simple collisions without friction, spin imparted on balls during striking due to friction, spin due to the angle of the mallet face and the equations governing the onset of roll due to friction.

1). The address bar of your browser now shows the URL of the page you are viewing.

2). Printing works as expected in the Firefox web browser.

3). The short web address http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/ is still the main preferred address for the site.

4). The old full address http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/index.htm is now retired and will NOT WORK; if you want a full address use http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/index.asp, but the short one above is preferred.

Updated. A further 20 clubs have been added to the database and, more significantly, the program now works at a base level in Firefox browsers. Still best from Internet Explorer. [VirtualEarth updated to version 6.1]Ian Plummer, UK

Hitting a ball off-centre induces a rotation of the mallet head and a slewing of the ball from the direction of swing. This is emphasised in mallets without peripheral (end face) weighting.
Jonathan Kirby, UK

'WCF Rules of Golf Croquet 2007 Revision' in standard HTML format - viewable from any browser directly. Smaller than the PDF version and does not require the Acrobat viewer to read it. Can be loaded onto PDAs etc. Ian Plummer, UK

This is a section from the Australian Croquet Associations' Referees Manual which provoked debate over the methods which should be used for deciding whether a ball is wired. It is reproduced here with its diagrams.

Don Gugan details experiments on the bounce characteristics of croquet balls and the analytical treatment of the transition from sliding to rolling. He includes a valuable appendix on lawn speed considering friction and the development of spin.

Handicaps from 5662 players worldwide were collected for use by the Croquet Association's Handicapping Committee. Some very basic observations are made about the relative handicaps in different countries. Ian Plummer.